8 choices for Oreo Cookies, only 2 for President?

Green Party hopeful and former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, interviewed by Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, makes powerful points about the stranglehold the current two parties have on our democracy. Her experience in Congress revealed to her how the Democrats had become “no different than their Republican counterparts.” Two of the examples McKinney cites are the Democratic party’s failure to support articles of impeachment against President GW Bush and Dick Cheney and Congress’ lack of action on both sides to address the continuing suffering of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. As the two “major” parties become more similar, larger chunks of voters have become disillusioned and want no part of the electoral process. Adding more choices to the ballot, notes McKinney is the only way to re-engage these citizens.

“Democracy,” McKinney noted, “can only get better with more participants in the process.” Someone pointed out to her that in a grocery store, shoppers have a choice between eight varieties of Oreo cookies but for President, our options are limited to just two.

The Green Party will be holding their convention to nominate a presidential candidate on the 10-12th of July. There is life outside the two-party system, however in many states, Indiana included, ballot access for a Green Party candidate is severely restricted. The Green Party does not have ballot access in Indiana and the state deadline for signatures to put the candidate’s name on the ballot is June 3oth, four months before the general election. As a result, the eventual Green Party nominee for US will not appear on the ballot in Indiana, leaving only two choices for every potential voter in Indiana. We will have more choices for Oreo cookies than for President.